Kim Stafford, Oregon Poet Laureate had been scheduled for an “Author’s visit at the Langlois Library for both a work shop for writers and would-be writers in the afternoon and an evening of poetry reading and discussion.

This event has been canceled due to the current situation. However, you can get a flavor of his work with his latest: https://projects.oregonlive.com/kim-stafford/. The poetry is both reflective and inspirational and speaks of our lives as we are living them now.

My favorite:

Shelter in Place:

Long before the pandemic, the trees

knew how to guard one place with

roots and shade. Moss found

how to hug a stone for life.

Every stream works out how

to move in place, staying home

even as it flows generously

outward, sending bounty far.

Now is our time to practice —

singing from balconies, sending

words of comfort by any courier,

kindling our lonesome generosity

to shine in all directions like stars.

You can even listen to Kim reading the poem